Floor Tiles and Then Some

Who knew there would be so many choices of tile flooring. Do we really need 1,348 selections? Enough to get you dizzy, I swear. The one tile that we found in Home Depot last weekend that we thought would be perfect turned out to be our least favorite this morning. Not to mention the fact that the contractor looked at that thin Home Depot tile, turned it over and said "Just as I thought.... made in Thailand."

According to the contractor, the best tiles are made in Italy, Spain, and Mexico. All of which he happens to have on display in his showroom. Stacked up against our humble tile from Thailand, there was no comparison. His were thicker, better made. Okay, score one for the contractor.

My husband and I looked at all the tiles. Or maybe I should say that I stopped looking after the 68th sample.... my husband looked at every one of them. It's the researcher in him... he can't help it. We narrowed it down to six, then five, then three. My husband asked the contractor if we could take those three home to see how they looked in the bathroom. Which made me groan.... thinking of another delay.... (Can't we just pick out one and place the order and get on with this?)

The contractor agreed with my husband. Men. They all stick together. "Take them home.... they'll look different on your floor than they do here." So we did. And they did look different... one was darker, the other was lighter, the third just perfect. And the one I thought would be my last choice turned out to be the one we both liked the best and the one we chose. I turned to my husband with a smile on my face and said "Now aren't you glad I wanted to bring the tiles home to see how they looked here?"

After picking out the tiles this morning, we followed the contractor to the plumbing supply outlet. We needed to pick out a new commode for the bathroom. Which was my idea, because I couldn't see re-installing an old toilet on top of a brand new tile floor. The contractor agreed with that too, of course.

The first commode we saw was the one that I liked, even though there were less to choose from at the plumbing supply store than there were in Home Depot. But at least we could see them this morning.... the ones in Home Depot required a 25-foot ladder in order to tell one from the other. I don't like to stand on ladders when I shop.

We looked at a catalog this morning.... my husband looked at the catalog. The pictures were so small in the catalog that I didn't want to be picking out a commode that way, not with the choices we had in the showroom. We got the first one that we saw, even though it was more than we thought we'd be spending on a commode.

After that decision was made, the plumbing salesman asked "Now, what type of seat would you like for that commode?"

Pardon me? We're spending over $300 on a commode and it doesn't come with a seat? Live and learn, I swear.

We asked the contractor how long this project will take. He has to order the tile, and the commode also has to be delivered from up in Brazos County. He told us that once he gets all the supplies in, doing the work should take "no more than a day, maybe a day and a half."

I behaved myself. I didn't ask him to put that in writing and have it notarized.